The present invention relates to a woven material, used for example in the making of panels which are impregnated with a resin, and relates more particularly to an improvement in such a material and related method wherein a three dimensional structure is formed using a continuous weave forming walls extending orthogonally with one another and each being integrally formed with the other through a common skin to create a high strength unibody stiffener.
In the fabrication of composite materials, it is known to use textiles or filamentary strand materials to reinforce the structures which are created. These reinforcing materials may take many different forms. For example, these strand materials may take the form of polymeric, glass, carbon, ceramic or other industrial fibers. Hence, such composite materials enjoy the benefits of high strength, light weight, and ability to be shaped to a desired configuration.
It have been found particularly useful to create panels with reinforcing walls extending in two coordinate directions and still have the reinforcing walls be connected to a base skin to provide the requisite overall strength for the structure as designed. Obviously, the drawbacks involved with forming a panel of this type using a conventional three dimensional weave system are numerous. One such drawback is that the constraint in constructing a stiffened panel is that the pick yarns which forms the wall section must be continuous through the section.
Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a method of ma-king a three dimensional woven fabric suitable for use as a frame member of a composite material that has a substantially planar skin portion with orthogonally disposed walls connected to the skin portion to effect the formation of a stiffened skin panel.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of making a three dimensional woven fabric of the aforementioned type wherein any size structure is capable of being fabricated according to the method.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a method of making a three dimensional woven fabric of the aforementioned type wherein the fabric is capable of being formed using any type of multiharness weaving loom.
Yet still a further object of the invention is to provide a method of making a three dimensional woven fabric of the aforementioned type wherein the fabric structure is capable of being formed from any type or diameter yarn.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of making a three dimensional woven fabric of the aforementioned type wherein yarns are continuously woven through intersecting walls.